Netflix sees Africa spy drama as key to unlock continent growth
JOHANNESBURG – Netflix Inc. sees the opening of new crime-drama series Queen Sono as the first of many original African TV series that will win the U.S. giant a bigger slice of a market still dominated by satellite TV.
The tale of a South African secret agent seeking to uncover the truth behind the death of her freedom-fighter mother will be followed by a Zambian animation series, a Cape Town-set mystery-thriller and an as-yet-untitled Nigerian production. They’ve all been commissioned by Dorothy Ghettuba, a Kenyan producer hired by Netflix last year to seek out content from the continent of more than 1 billion people.
“We are diving all in when it comes to Africa — we are not just dipping our toes,” Ghettuba said in an interview in Johannesburg ahead of a glitzy premiere to mark the launch of Queen Sono a week ago. “Africans like to see themselves on screen, and Africa has a big population that wants to see their stories represented.”
Source: iol.co.za